Salem Schools' New District Logo, Motto Unveiled

SALEM, MA —"Where Belonging Leads To Opportunity" will be the new theme of Salem Public Schools after a months-long process to create a new district-wide logo and motto.

Salem Superintendent Steve Zrike began the process of revising the logo and motto late this fall after it was determined it was time to break off from the "Destination Salem" tourism-based logo. Each school will continue to have its own individual nickname and color scheme — with the high school remaining the Salem Witches.

But the district-wide logo is meant to deliver a mission statement based on the district's priorities in the post-pandemic time.

The logo includes four students — a younger boy and girl, a student with a disability and a graduate enclosed in four circles. "Where Belonging Leads To Opportunity" comes from three themes that students and staff picked during the development process:

"We believe all members of our community are valued and that our relationships are built on empathy and respect."

"We believe in social justice to ensure an inclusive school community where all members are empowered and engaged."

"We believe all students should receive a personalized experience to achieve academic success, find joy in their learning and have multiple choices for their post-secondary plans."

"These are the three core values that we really feel anchor us as a school system," Zrike told the School Committee on Monday night.

"We feel very strongly that this does represent so much of what we've heard over the last few years and will help guide us in our work moving forward," Zrike said. "We feel like now it's about ensuring that we define what the actions and behaviors are that bring those core values to life.

"And how do we ensure that these values permeate through our schools, classrooms and events in the way we message and the decisions we make as Salem Public Schools."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)